Later that night, Zanka gets up from bed and hears a lot of people talking in the cafeteria. He goes to check it out and is surprised to see everyone in the middle of a huge party. He finds Riyou and asks her what it’s for. She tells him it’s Rudo’s big welcome party, but Zanka doesn’t buy it since Rudo hasn’t done anything to earn a party this big. He bets Riyou and the others just wanted an excuse to get drunk — and he’s not wrong.
Since it’s meant to be Rudo’s party, Zanka thinks it’s weird he hasn’t seen him yet. He looks around and eventually spots Rudo sitting with his head down at a table, looking sad. He asks Riyou what’s wrong with him, but she’s not sure. He’s just been upset since they got back from the mission, so she’s been giving him space.
Speaking of the mission, Zanka asks how it went. He’s heard rumors that she went up against a weird trash beast. Riyou says “weird” is an understatement — the beast’s core wasn’t made of anama, it was a vital instrument. She’s hoping she’s wrong, because the thought of trash beasts with vital instruments gives her a headache, so she’s decided not to think about it and just enjoy the party.
While they’re talking, Grizz pulls up a chair at Rudo’s table to have a chat. He asks why Rudo is so down when he did good work yesterday. Rudo says he didn’t actually do anything helpful. Grizz reminds him he saved Folo, the gobbles kid, from getting trampled by the trash beast, but Rudo still feels like he didn’t make much of a difference. Riyou and Grizz were the ones saving people, while he just rushed in without thinking and made things worse.
It was the same back in the Sphere — one insult and he’d fly off the rails in rage, and then Reto would have to apologize for him. His job yesterday was to stay back and observe, but instead, he put himself in danger like a fool.
Even so, Grizz thanks Rudo for saving Folo. Supporters are often looked down on as dead weight, and some cleaners treat them like they’re worthless, but Rudo showed respect from the start. Folo, for example, wanted to become a cleaner and fight trash beasts. He started working on a treasured object, hoping to become a giver, but over time, realized that vital instrument or not, he still wanted to help people. So he became a supporter instead, because every job is important.
Grizz then asks Rudo if he knows what he really wants — aside from revenge. Rudo doesn’t know how to answer. Grizz tells him it’s fine if he can’t answer right away; it’s a big question. But he’s sure Rudo will figure it out, because he’s still got a long life ahead.
Grizz’s speech really strikes a chord with Rudo, so he feels a lot better and decides to join the others at the party.
Elsewhere, a scrap collector who was kidnapped isn’t having such a great time. The man who took him — Jabber — has spent the last few hours torturing him for information about Rudo. The worst part is that the scrap collector has already told him everything he knows, which isn’t much, considering he’s only seen Rudo once. But Jabber keeps torturing him anyway, just for the fun of it. Now, the poor man is a bloody mess, begging to be let go. Instead, Jabber decides to slice his face off to “end his misery” because he’s bored.
While he didn’t get much useful information, Jabber did learn what Rudo looks like and that he’s both a spirit and a giver — which makes him a perfect addition to Jabber’s “collection.”
Later that day, back at Cleaner’s HQ, Seamia receives an interesting call at the front desk. She gathers the team to explain the details and apologizes for the sudden notice, but Zanka doesn’t mind an early job. What he does mind is that she expects him to bring Rudo along. He points out that he’s only meant to train Rudo once he becomes an official cleaner, and with the boss gone, that won’t be anytime soon.
Seamia insists she can call in whoever she wants, and besides, Rudo is relevant to the mission. The job came from a merchant whose valuable merchandise — a living, breathing spirit — was snatched by a trash beast in a polluted zone. Everyone is shocked. Spirits like Rudo surviving the fall is rare enough, so the chances of two appearing so close together are almost impossible. That’s why she figured Rudo would be interested. If he’s lucky, the spirit might even know a way back to the Sphere.
Rudian tells Rudo there’s no pressure; it’s his choice. Rudo knows he still can’t control his powers properly, so he might slow the team down — but this could be a good chance to learn. He decides to go.
Zanka still isn’t thrilled, so Seamia tells him she was originally going to send Engine, but he recommended Zanka for the job instead. Hearing that his idol picked him gets Zanka fired up, so he agrees, and the others follow his lead.
While walking, Rudo asks Grizz if he’s sure about going without a weapon. Grizz says basic trash beasts usually go down after a punch or two. Folo chimes in, saying Grizz is just acting tough — in reality, he’s always worried, so he carries a lucky charm for safety.
The group is then approached by a woman named Grimm. Now that everyone’s here, she asks if they can get going, as she still needs to show them where the trash beast went. Rudo figures she must be the client. He starts questioning her about the spirit — what they looked like, where she found them, and what condition they were in. Grimm says she stumbled across the furry creature while traveling, but it was unconscious the whole time, so she never got to speak to it. She hopes they can find the spirit before it gets hurt.
Rudo assumes she’s only worried because she wants to sell the spirit’s body parts, but Grimm says she would never harm it for profit. Rudo still doesn’t trust her, but finding the spirit takes priority. Still, Zanka doubts they’ll find it alive — and ever since Grimm arrived, he’s had a bad feeling he can’t explain.
They reach an old abandoned building, and Grimm says that’s where the spirit was snatched. They prepare to fight, but instead of a trash beast, the place is empty except for a doll sitting in a chair. Suddenly, Grimm shoves them all into the middle of the room, and moments later, the floor collapses beneath them, sending the group falling into the basement.
They all manage to survive somehow, and Grizz yells at Grimm, demanding to know what she thinks she’s doing. She tells them she’s just making it easier to get to the “spirit” — and by that, she means Rudo. Grimm then melts into a pile of mud.
Down in the tunnel, two shady figures emerge from the darkness holding purple lanterns. Zanka had his suspicions before coming here, and now he wishes he had trusted his gut — it’s clear they’ve fallen into a raider trap. Rudo asks what he means by “raiders,” so Grizz explains they’re basically bandits, but lately their activities have grown extreme, even experimenting on people. Normally, they wouldn’t be a big deal, but most of them are givers, making them a significant threat.
There’s no time to waste, so Grizz tells the other three supporters to look for an exit while he and Folo protect Rudo. He warns everyone there may be more raiders nearby and asks Zanka to handle the two in front of them. Zanka says he’s got it covered, so they should move. After a moment’s hesitation, Rudo follows Grizz and Folo to find a way out.
Rudo says he could have stayed to fight alongside Zanka, but Grizz explains that raiders aren’t just ordinary goons — it would be far too risky with Rudo there, making him feel like a burden again.
Meanwhile, Zanka asks the raiders how they found Rudo so quickly. He figured it was only a matter of time before word got out about Rudo and people came after him, but it’s only been two days. He assumes they’re after the money they’d get from selling him. Grimm tells him she’d never sell Rudo — not when she could get valuable information by studying his brain.
Zanka doesn’t care why she wants Rudo, but he hates that she wasted his time with a fake request. Grimm tells him he can take his frustration out on her puppet. Within seconds, Zanka is surrounded by mud figures, but he’s not worried — they should be easy to destroy. He starts smashing them, but Grimm has a trick up her sleeve. Before he realizes it, Kzo emerges from one puppet and punches Zanka in the face.
Grimm’s mud puppets may be weak, but with Kzo hidden among them, Zanka never knows where the next hit will come from. To make matters worse, mud splatters everywhere each time he destroys a puppet, making it hard to move. Grimm says she’s enjoyed their fight but needs to finish him before going after Rudo, since his abilities are troublesome.
Zanka cuts her off, saying he’s tired of her talking. He admits she had the upper hand at first, but watching her fight has revealed her tactics. She uses her shovel to control the mud. At first, he worried Kzo might also have a special weapon, but it turns out all he can do is punch and kick — and the only reason he moves so well in the mud is because he’s wearing snowshoes to distribute his weight.
Finding this amusing, Zanka decides to end it. Grimm, now frustrated, sends all her puppets at once. Before they can reach him, Zanka jams his stick into the ground and uses it like a tuning fork to sense vibrations, detecting even the smallest anomalies. It only takes seconds to locate the puppet with Kzo inside.
He charges, smashes Kzo in the face, then strikes Grimm, knocking them both out instantly. With Grimm unconscious, her mud puppets disintegrate. Zanka is almost disappointed by how easy it was — until he hears Jabber’s voice right behind him, and instantly knows he’s in deep trouble.
